Buddy for cheap flights
Tell me where you’re going, when, and what you want to spend. I’ll compare what I find and keep checking on a schedule if nothing fits yet.
A teacher in Anchorage, Alaska, trying to get home to Denver for Thanksgiving.
Send me where, when, and your limit. I’ll compare what I find, and I can keep checking on a schedule until something fits.
- Is it cheaper to fly into Colorado Springs than Denver that week?
- Check fares to Phoenix every morning this week and tell me if one drops under $250.
- Put the three best options in a spreadsheet with times, stops, and bag fees.
- Today 9:10 PM
- You: can you find me flights to denver for thanksgiving week? trying to stay under $300, no red eyes
- Buddy: Sure. Which days can you leave, and when do you need to be back?
- You: leave the 21st or 22nd, back by the 30th
- Buddy: Give me a few minutes to look.
- 9:18 PM
- Buddy: Nothing under $300 yet. I found four, and the lowest is $388 round trip: out the 22nd at 1:15 PM, one stop in Seattle, back the 30th.
- Buddy: Want me to check every morning this week and text you if one drops under $300? I won’t book anything without you.
- You: yes please Buddy liked this.
- Buddy: Done. I’ll check each morning through Sunday.
Tell me where you’re going, when, and what you want to spend. I’ll compare what I find and keep checking on a schedule if nothing fits yet.
From one text to a short list of flights
Tell me the trip
Where you’re leaving from, where you’re going, the dates, and your limit. Add anything that rules a flight out, like red-eyes or two stops.
I search and compare
I look at current fares and line up times, stops, and price, with where I found each one. A price can change before you book, so check the final total.
Book it with me, or on your own
If you want me to take it to checkout, say so. When the site needs your sign-in or card, I’ll send a link so you can take over my screen and enter it there.
More you can ask for
- Find flights to Denver under $300 for Thanksgiving week.
- Compare nonstop and one-stop flights to Honolulu for spring break.
- Which week in March is cheapest to fly from Chicago to Lisbon?
- Which of these two flights is the better deal once bags are added?
- My sister’s flying from Omaha. Find her flights that land within an hour of mine.
- Get the cheaper one to checkout, and bring me in to pay.
What you get back
A side-by-side you can act on
Times, stops, and price for the flights that fit, with where each one came from. A listed fare isn’t a booking, and it can change before you pay.
How research worksA check on a schedule
Ask me to look each morning or each evening, and say when to stop. I text you when something fits. I check on a schedule, not live.
Scheduled workYour sign-in and card stay with you
When a site needs a password or a card, I send a link to take over my screen, and you type it on the site itself. Never in chat.
Working on the webA file if you want one
Ask and I’ll save the options as a spreadsheet you can sort and keep.
Work with files
| Leaves | Stops | Round trip |
|---|---|---|
| 22nd, 1:15 PM | 1, Seattle | $388 |
| 21st, 10:40 AM | 1, Seattle | $412 |
| 22nd, 7:05 AM | 1, Salt Lake | $436 |
| 21st, 3:30 PM | Nonstop | $519 |
| Under $300 | None yet | Checking mornings |
Questions people ask
Can Buddy book the flight for me?
He can take it as far as you ask, including the checkout page. Signing in and paying happen on the site itself, through a link that lets you take over his screen. Asking him to watch fares isn’t asking him to buy one.
Will he find the lowest fare anywhere?
He searches what he can reach on the public web and tells you where each price came from. He can’t promise it’s the lowest anywhere, and he doesn’t predict where fares are headed.
How often does he check?
On the schedule you give him, like every morning through Sunday. He checks at those times, not every minute, so a short-lived fare can come and go between checks.
How do I stop the checks?
Tell Buddy in the conversation where you set them up. He can pause them, change the timing, or remove them. In the VXBE desktop app, Settings, then Scheduled work, shows them too.
Does he need my airline password?
Not to search. If booking needs a sign-in, he sends a takeover link and you sign in on the airline’s own page. Don’t paste a password into chat.